A Little Terror Goes a Long Way: The Odd Thomas Trailer

Back in 2003, Dean Koontz released a little paranormal thriller with the unlikely title of Odd Thomas, a quirky tale of an unassuming young man with the power to see ghosts (and worse). Odd Thomas quickly hit the best seller list and was picked up for a feature-length film adaptation, then…nothing. Entangled in legal issues, the film’s anticipated 2013 theatrical release date has long since come and gone. Luckily for Odd Thomas fans, the film has quietly become available for digital rental from iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon On Demand. You can watch the trailer below.

Although there are definite parallels to Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners, the trailer seems to capture some of the juxtaposition of dark supernatural themes with good-natured goofery that made the first Odd Thomas book work. Director Stephen Sommers has turned out work with a similar tone in 1999’s The Mummy, and Odd Thomas star Anton Yelchin was charming in the Star Trek and Fright Night reboots. I’m willing to give this one a chance as a potentially pleasant afternoon diversion. What do you think, kittens?

14 replies

Tough call. The book’s ending had a surprisingly emotional edge and I think the movie will have a hard time evoking the same feeling. Watch the movie first so you won’t be disappointed if they don’t nail it, or read the book first so you can enjoy it unbiased?

By the way, this was exactly my feeling on Shawshank, so your experience may differ, darling. 😉

OMG – it was so bad. Maybe people who’ve read Odd Thomas will take away something more from the movie, but wow did it suck.
I usually like Anton Yelchin but he was struggling with this one. Everything felt cheap and “off”. The dialog was trying so hard to be fun-goofy, but ended up sounding impossibly contrived. Young, scantily clad girls were introduced and objectified, only to die horrible deaths. Monsters and hellholes pop up and disappear without any explanation either way.
My recommendation: Skip it.